American Leaders Speak: Recordings from World War I and the 1920 Election

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“The Nation’s Forum recordings were made between 1918 and 1920 in an effort to preserve the voices of prominent Americans; in most cases, they are the only surviving recordings of a speaker. The project originated with St. Louis attorney Guy Golterman (1879-1967), an active supporter of the opera and other performing arts. With the endorsement of the Department of State’s Committee on Public Information, a governmental propaganda ministry, the Nation’s Forum sought speakers, and the Columbia Graphophone Company pressed and distributed the recordings under the Nation’s Forum label.”

“The recordings fall into two distinct series. The 1918 series was devoted mostly to World War I topics and was apparently distributed only to political organizations and other groups. The notable exception is the recording of General John Pershing (with Ambassador James Gerard speaking on the reverse side), which was sold commercially. All of the recordings from the 1918 series were pressed on ten-inch discs. The 1919-1920 series was devoted mostly to postwar issues and the 1920 presidential election.”

“The speeches included in the Nation’s Forum collection are not actuality recordings, recorded at the time of their original delivery. Instead, speakers were invited to repeat their significant orations for the Nation’s Forum project at a location convenient to the particular speaker. All of the Nation’s Forum recordings were acoustically made.”